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SEFA Tutorial

Lesson 1: Federal Reporting Requirements – Background

Assistance Listing (AL)

An AL is the listing detailed description of a federal program in the SAM. Each AL is assigned an assistance listing number (ALN). The U.S. Department of Education (U.S. Ed.) also follows some ALNs with a letter to indicate a subprogram. Subprograms are not currently listed in the SAM.

The ALN is a 5-digit number in the format XX.XXX, where:

  • The first two digits before the decimal represent a two-digit federal agency number (see Table I).
  • The three digits after the decimal represent the specific award number.

A U.S. Ed. ALN with a subprogram is in the format XX.XXXZ, where:

  • The letter represents the subprogram.

A generic ALN is in the format XX.000, where:

  • The first two digits before the decimal represent a two-digit federal agency number (see Table I).
  • The 000 after the decimal represents no known specific award number.

An agency must report a federal award by ALN or ALN subprogram when the ALN or ALN subprogram is included in the award letter or agreement. An agency may only use the generic ALN when all other methods of obtaining an ALN have been reasonably exhausted. See the Data Elements page for additional details about each element included in an ALN.

Prior to the launch of the SAM, federal programs were listed in the Catalog of Federal and Domestic Assistance (CFDA), with each federal program assigned a CFDA number. Although the CFDA and CFDA number have been phased out, some state and federal guidance may still reference the CFDA or CFDA number instead of an AL or ALN.

The assigned number and number format for a federal program did not change during the transition from CFDA to ALN. For example, the federal Medical Assistance Program was previously listed in the CFDA as CFDA 93.778 and is now listed in the SAM as ALN 93.778.

Contact your agency’s assigned financial reporting analyst to request an ALN or ALN subprogram addition to the SEFA web application. Include a copy of the award letter or agreement with the request.

Example 1:
Sample Agency XXX expends the following federal award from the federal Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS):

  • Award amount: $100,000,000
  • Program title: Medical Assistance Program
  • ALN: 93.778

DHHS did not include a subprogram letter in the ALN. Sample Agency XXX will report the following expenditures in SEFA: $100,000,000 for ALN 93.778.

Example 2:
Sample University YYY expends the following federal award from U.S. Ed.:

  • Award amount: $125,000,000
  • Program title: Education Stabilization Fund
  • ALN: 84.425

To comply with U.S. Ed.’s grant requirements, Sample University YYY determines the expenditures must be allocated to the following ESF subprograms:

  • $50,000,000 for the subprogram Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Student Aid Portion, ALN 84.425E.
  • $45,000,000 for the subprogram HEERF Institutional Portion, ALN 84.425F.
  • $30,000,000 for the subprogram HEERF (HEERF) Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), ALN 84.425L.

The ALN includes subprogram letters (E, F and L); therefore, the expenditures must be reported in SEFA by the subprogram. Sample University YYY reports the following expenditures in SEFA:

  • $50,000,000 for ALN 84.425E
  • $45,000,000 for ALN 84.425F
  • $30,000,000 for ALN 84.425L

Example 3:
Sample University YYY expends the following federal award from U.S. Ed.:

  • Award amount: $2,000,000
  • Program title: Adult Education – Basic Grants to States
  • ALN: 84.002

The award letter from U.S. Ed. includes only one subprogram, which uses the same title: $2,000,000 for subprogram Adult Education – Basic Grants to States, ALN 84.002A.

The ALN includes one subprogram letter (A); therefore, the expenditures must be reported in SEFA by the subprogram. Sample University YYY reports the following expenditures in SEFA: $2,000,000 for ALN 84.002A.

Example 4:
Sample University YYY expends the following federal award from U.S. Ed.:

  • Award amount: $50,000
  • Program title: Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Programs
  • ALN: 84.016

Although the award is from U.S. Ed., the award did not include a subprogram letter after the ALN. Sample University YYY reports the following expenditures in SEFA: $50,000 for ALN 84.016.

Example 5:
Sample Agency XXX expends the following federal award from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA):

  • Award amount: $5,000,000
  • Program title: Miscellaneous Grants to States
  • ALN: none listed

The award from the VA must be reported in SEFA, but Sample Agency XXX’s attempts to obtain a specific ALN are unsuccessful. The VA’s 2-digit federal agency number is 64.

No specific ALN is available; therefore, the expenditures must be reported by the generic ALN for the VA. Sample Agency XXX reports the following expenditures in SEFA: $5,000,000 for ALN 64.000.

Next: Reporting Entity (Agency)